Sports Direct Promotional pens

Sports Direct promotional pens

I'm shopping for a new school bag for my son. It has to be black, preferably Nike, no weird colours. I've scoured the shelves of 3 sports shops already, I'm fed up, I hate shopping at the best of times and here I am in Sports Direct. They have the bag. Its black, its Nike and theres no weird colours. The queue is massive, the till staff are working at their own leisurely pace and I need a wee. Its my turn to pay. I'm offered the massive bag for life. No thanks but thanks for asking. And there they are, the pens, the only thing I actually don't mind shopping for. I pick up a set of 3. "I'll have these as well please"  The till op looks surprised. I'm guessing by the full pen box that they're not exactly bestsellers.
I go home pleased with my unexpected purchase and quite happy I had to go shopping for a bag!
For 69p for the three, I wasn't expecting a great deal, and not a great deal is exactly what I got. I had to change the refill in the blue and black pen straight away as the ink was dry. Apart from that, the pens are fine. They are just your average ballpoint pen, but I couldn't help myself. I have a soft spot for promotional pens. However crappy they might be.

JCB Parker Promotional Pen

JCB promotional pen

I got this Parker pen from my Dad, who got it from work. 
I love the design. The lid says 'JCB World Class Customer Support' and the barrel which is the most interesting part, shows the major cities around the world. By matching the cities up to the times on the lid you can see the time zone differences around the world. It's pretty cool. 

Rubber grip, so smooth and comfortable

The JCB Parker is mostly plastic with a rubber grip which is extremely comfortable to hold. The grip is long enough so that it doesn't matter how I hold the pen, it always feels comfortable and soft on my fingers. It's a lightweight pen so together with the excellent grip I can write for a lengthy period of time, without experiencing any sort of hand fatigue. 

Takes Parker Medium Rollerball refill

Depending on what angle I'm holding my Parker, it can sometimes feel a little scratchy on paper. I do think it depends on the paper too. I find that when in a scratchy mood, it writes much smoother if held in a more upright position. The ink flow is perfect from any angle and dries super fast. To refill, just unscrew in the middle and the refill will slide out, ready for its replacement.

Poorly Parker

Sadly I've cracked the lid. This has happened over time, not through heavy handedness, just general wear and tear which is such a shame. As soon as I saw the first hint of a crack I was extra careful but it didn't make any difference. 
Despite the crack in the lid and the occasional scratchyness, I've become quite attached to this pen. It's not a pen you can get hold of just anywhere, in fact I've not seen another like it so if you have one, let me know!